1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to agricultural crops, such as fruits and vegetables, that are grown in rows on beds, specifically to a machine to chop these crops when their growing season is over.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many vegetable and fruit crops are grown in rows on beds that are formed up above field level, with irrigation furrows formed below field level between them. When planting strawberries, for example, the grower will often lay a small plastic drip-irrigation tube along the top of the bed and then cover the bed with a thin strip of plastic film along its entire length. The plastic film covers the top of the bed and down the sloping sides part way into the furrow. The strawberry plants grow through holes in the plastic film on top of the bed. During the early part of the growing season, the plastic film keeps the bed warmer than exposed soil because of the greenhouse effect, accelerating plant growth. Later, as the berries mature, the plastic film keeps them from contacting the moist soil underneath, which deters the formation of mold.
At the end of the picking season, many growers like to chop their plants back for a second year growth. They will cut off all the stems and leaves of the plants to about one inch above the plastic film. This allows the growers to harvest a second crop a few weeks later without incurring the large expense of field preparation and replanting.
Heretofore this chopping operation has been done by hand, which is very expensive, or with tractor drawn field mowers of either the flail or rotary type. There are two significant drawbacks associated with the use of field mowers. They often rip up large pieces of the plastic film and drip irrigation tubing, and they do not reach down the sides of the beds and chop the leaves and stems that hang into the furrow.